1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a structure for wiring one or more circuits on a panel of a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Circuit-wiring structures of this type have been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 9-19035, which are shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.
In FIG. 10, a round wiring harness 1 having insulated conductors wound around by a tape is pushed in a guide lane 4 formed in an inner harness attachment surface 3 of an instrument panel 2 of a vehicle. Resilient locking claws 5, 5 integral with and projecting inwardly at the edges of the guide lane 4 are deflected inwardly to allow the insertion of the wiring harness 1 into the guide lane 4.
The width W1 between the locking claws 5, 5, as shown in FIG. 10, is smaller than the inner width W2 of the guide lane 4, and the length L1 of the locking claws 5 is about xc2xc of the inner width W2 of the guide lane 4.
Referring to FIG. 11, a flat wiring harness 7 is pushed in a shallow concave guide lane 8 formed in the harness attachment surface 3. Locking claws 9, 9 are provided integrally at the edges of the guide lane 8 to project inwardly, nd the flat wiring harness 7 is deflected to be inserted into the guide lane 8.
The inner width W3 between the locking claws 9, 9, as shown in FIG. 11, is smaller than the inner width W4 of the guide lane 8, and the length L2 of the locking claws 9 is about xc2xc of the inner width W4 of the guide lane 8.
In recent years, the number of auxiliaries placed on board a vehicle such as an automobile has been increasing, which inevitably requires an increasing number of circuits for connecting the auxiliaries to a power source, constituted by for example the round wiring harnesses 1 or flat wiring harnesses 7 as mentioned above. As a result, there are lots of wiring harnesses wired in the vehicle including the inside of the instrument panel 2.
Under these conditions, in order to efficiently wire circuits on a panel of a vehicle body such as the instrument panel 2, it is necessary at the initial design stage to plot for the wiring harnesses.
With such conventional circuit-wiring structures as mentioned above, however, because the holding means for the wiring harnesses are provided on the panel of the vehicle body and undercuts are formed by the locking claws 5, 9, if the panel of the vehicle has a complicated configuration, due to the limited direction of removing the molding die, a satisfactory plotting for the wiring harnesses cannot be made, resulting in the configuration flexibility of the panel impaired.
Further, a complex molding die will be required. In addition, due to the undercut formed during the molding by the locking claws 5, 6, it will be difficult to provide the inner width of the guide lane 4, 8 as designed, with the result that the wiring harness actually is not properly retained.
With such conventional circuit-wiring structures, because the wiring harnesses 1, 7 are fitted in the respective guide lanes 4, 8 one by one, the laying operation is time-consuming, resulting in a low workability.
With such conventional circuit-wiring structures, because the wired harness is connected to the related auxiliary through connectors, one attached to a branch from the wired harness and the other attached to the auxiliary, there are cases in which the connectors are coupled by hand in a blind manner inside for example the instrument panel 2.
Such conventional circuit-wiring structures thus require much labor and time during the stage of laying the wiring harnesses and the subsequent stages.
This invention has been accomplished to overcome the above drawbacks and an object of this invention is to provide a structure for wiring circuits on a panel of a vehicle body which enables an easy wiring of circuits and gives an improved configuration flexibility for the panel, which reliably retains circuit-constituting conductors, which provides an improved workability, and which is better adapted for connecting to an auxiliary.
In order to attain the object, according to this invention, there is provided a structure for wiring one or more circuits on a panel of a vehicle body, which comprises: a panel board separate from the panel of the vehicle body, which has one or more conductors laid in a desired wiring pattern for constituting the one or more circuits; and a receiver space provided in the panel of the vehicle body for receiving the panel board, wherein the panel board is mounted in the receiver space to wire the one or more circuits on the panel of the vehicle body.
Preferably, the one or more conductors are at least partly exposed for electric connection to an auxiliary to be mounted on the panel of the vehicle body.
Preferably, the one or more conductors are embedded in the panel board by insert molding, and the panel board has at least one window whereat the one or more conductors are exposed for electric connection to the auxiliary.
Preferably, the one or more conductors are provided in a flat harness on the panel board, with at least one portion thereof exposed for electric connection to the auxiliary.
Advantageously, the panel board is provided at opposite sides thereof with a pair of guide pieces extending in a fitting direction of the panel board in the receiver space, and the panel is provided inside the receiver space with a pair of corresponding guide grooves for fitting engagement therein of the guide pieces.
Advantageously, the panel board further has a rib extending longitudinally of the panel board for improving its stiffness.
Advantageously, the panel board further has a plate adhered to or embedded in the panel board for improving its stiffness.
Advantageously, the auxiliary comprises an internal unit including a substrate and at least one electric or electronic component implemented on the substrate, and wherein the panel board has the internal unit assembled and electrically connected thereto in advance and is mounted, along with the internal unit, in the panel as of the vehicle body.
Advantageously, the panel board further has a means for mounting the auxiliary thereon.
Advantageously, the panel of the vehicle has a reinforcement member therefor, and the panel board is fixed to the reinforcement member to be mounted in the receiver space provided in the panel of the vehicle.
Preferably, the panel board comprises a first substrate portion extending longitudinally of the vehicle body, a second substrate portion provided at one end of the first substrate portion which has a connector leading to the one or more conductors, a third substrate portion extending downwardly at an opposite end of the first substrate portion, and an auxiliary-guiding and -fixing portion extending longitudinally at a lower end of the third substrate portion, and wherein at least one of the first and third substrate portions and the guiding and fixing portion has a window whereat the one or more conductors are exposed for electric connection to an auxiliary to be mounted on the panel of the vehicle.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.